Why Sports Nutrition?

It seems that more and more, people are beginning to ask questions. The one I get the most is " You are a Naturopath. Why do you focus on sports nutrition? Shouldn't you be helping the sick?" It does not surprise me that many potential clients ask this. What surprises me is that a lot of my colleagues in the industry ask me the same thing. It appears that many people, including many natural health professionals, do not truly understand the benefits of exercise.

The knowledge of the benefits of exercise has been known for a long time. I would like to open here with a few quotes from some very well known individuals.

Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save and preserve it.
Plato - 350 BC

Positive health requires a knowledge of man's primary constitution and of the powers of various foods, both those natural and those resulting from human skill. But eating alone is not enough for health. There must be exercise of which the effects must likewise be known. If there is any deficiency in food or exercise, the body will fall sick.
Hippocrates - 5th Century BC

The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet, in the cause and prevention of disease.
Thomas Edison

The benefits of exercise are numerous. Below is a list of some highlights.

1. Resistance training has the potential to improve muscle strength and endurance, enhance flexibility and body composition, decrease risk factors for cardiovascular disease and improve glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity;
2. There is a strong inverse relationship between physical fitness and mortality due to all causes;
   
3. Incidence of all forms of cancer is closely related to the lack of fitness. Unfit men and women are nearly 300% more likely to develop cancer;
4. A moving body maintains and improves insulin function;
5. Exercise increases overall white cell counts in the blood. This includes lymphocytes, interleukin, and neutriphils;
6. Exercise strengthens immunity and improves resistance to all kinds of damage including bacteria, viruses, toxins, and radiation.
7. Exercise prevents fat build up in the coronary arteries of the heart;
8. Weight training does not only increase the metabolism, but it builds muscle and preserves bone mass. A 21-year study from the University of Helsinki, Finland, involving more than 3,200 men, showed that those who exercised vigorously in their 40s and 50s were much less likely to sustain hip fractures than men who were sedentary. Even moderate exercise offered some protection.
9. Exercise helps relieve the symptoms of depression.
   

The list goes on. Study after study confirms this. The right exercise should be the cornerstone of any health building program. As I have shown, it helps regulate hormones, increase metabolism, increase bone mass, lower cholesterol levels, increase the immune system. Even the most moderate of exercise programs can achieve this.

To me the answer is clear. Exercise and physical training is not an option. It is a must. It is time to build a healthy body.

Don't miss any racing due to a cold this year.

My wife and I have been into natural health for nearly 20 years. During my studies as a Naturopath, I have come to subscribe to teh biological terrain theories. One of my mentors,Steven Horne, as well as other great Naturpaths including J.H. Tilden, have been teaching this methodology for nearly a century. So, it is not a new idea. Steven Horne is confident that we can shorten the time it takes to recover from a cold or a flu to 24 hours or less. He states that you can even be over an acute ailment in just a few hours. I have to agree with him. My family and I have been using this methodology for a long time now, and even though we have 3 school aged children, none of us has had a cold or flu fully develop in years?


First of all you can only catch a cold when the system is weakened so it is better to create a body that is immune than it is to rage war against microbes that have already dug in and are waiting for the attack. It is important to keep the internal environment clean to help prevent yourself from catching a cold, flu or something else. Think of this to be like flies around a garbage pile. the flies are there because of the garbage. They did not bring the garbage with them. It is the same with germs. Doing a cleanse twice a year is recommended since toxins weaken the body.


Curing a cold is like A-C-B: Activate, Cleanse, Build.

First, it is important to understand that sneezing, coughing, watery eyes and other cold symptoms are created by the immune system trying to get rid off all the toxins and microbes. They are the body trying to gain normality or homeostasis. These symptoms are good. Trying to suppress them only works against the bodies natural healing process. If you suppress this symptoms wit O-T-C or even with natural remedies you are working against the what the body is trying to do.


Lets get back to A+C+B. A+C+B stands for Activate, Cleanse and Build.
First you want to give the body an energy boost to help it push the irritants out of the system. This is A for Activation. You also want to assist the body in getting rid of the irritants by opening all the different elimination channels in the body. This is C for Cleansing. As you start to feel better you want to replenish the nutrients in the body that were used up in fighting the disease.


Activation
The Chinese have an energy system they call wei qi which protects the body from disease. The energy pushes outward on the surfaces of the mucus membranes lining our lungs, digestive tract and our skin.


Herbs with a pungent taste, such as capsicum, horseradish, ginger etc help generate this wei qi energy. When you eat spicy food your eyes water, your mucus clear from your throat and lung, your nose runs and you start to perspire. Pungent herbs activate the energy that helps the body discharge whatever it is irritating it. These herbs are your best friends during a cold.

As soon as you feel a cold coming on, stop eating, start drinking lots of fluid and start taking some of these pungent herbs. I use herbal compositions powders and extracts from NSP. Feel free to contact me if you want more information about them. Activating herbs can be found in HCP-X or CC-A with Yerba Santa.


Cleanse
Activating the wei qi is normally enough to speed recovery. We can also cleanse in order to support the body's effort to flush what is irritating it.


Clearing the colon will often break a fever and dramatically reduce congestion. Some people prefer to do an enema which is the fastest way, but it is not necessary. Digestive enzymes taken together with activating herbs every hour will help break down material in the intestines. They will clear the colon within 2-6 hours. Proactazyme Plus or Food Enzymes are excellent choices if you need enzymes


If fever is involved, it is often recommended to use bitter herbs to help clear the digestive tract and cool the system down. Golden Seal/Echinacea or Oregon Grape are good choices. Small frequent doses are the key. Lobelia and LB extract are other choices mentioned by Steve Horne to clear the colon.


I hesitate to say this given the news lately, but other ways of cleansing is to break a sweat with the use of a sweat lodges or like the Finns with their saunas. Most people don't have a sweat lodge or a sauna at home so you can improvise by drinking herbal composition powder mixed with yarrow and chamomile made into a tea while sitting in a hot bath. I always add essential oils to the bath, open some capsules of ginger and add to the bath. Make the bath as hot as you can tolerate. Once out of the bath keep drinking liquid until you perspire.


Flush the kidneys and Lymphatics
Your tissues such as lymph nodes in your neck or chest, are often swollen when you are sick. In this case you want to add products that are supporting the kidneys and lymphatics. I add 1 teaspoon Kidney Drainage Formula and 1 teaspoon Lymphatic Drainage Formula into a quart of water.


Congested?
As mentioned before, when you are coughing and sneezing the body is trying to expel irritating substances from the lungs and sinuses. It is counterproductive to suppress the cough or drying up the sinuses. A remedy that will help break up the mucus and help the body to expel it is needed in this case. It is called a decongestant. One of the most effective herbal decongestant is ALJ, which comes in liquid, capsules and tablets. ALJ will assist the body's cleansing of the respiratory system so don't expect it to dry up your nose or suppress your cough. You may cough and sneeze a little bit more at first since the body is clearing out the irritants.
If the infection reach the lungs I would add Garlic Oil to the ALJ. You can poke a hole in the capsule and give it to the children orally. For adults taking 1 tablet of High Potency Garlic every four hours can be beneficial. I would also add garlic to the food I am eating.


Build

When you are assisting the body to clear out the disease it is wise to cut back on the food since the body needs to concentrate its energy on fighting off the illness. It is especially important to avoid food that impair the immune system. White sugar, white flour, processed food, sodas etc all tax the immune system and may delay recovery. However, once your energy has returned you can start eating again as long as you don't add any heavy food to the diet. Fruit, vegetables and soup are great to start with and then you work your way up to regular food again.


A must have at home
During flu season I always keep certain supplements at home. It is very useful when the colds and flu are going around so I can boost the immune system. Elderberry Defense or Ultimate Echinacea are useful addition to the natural medicine cabinet during flu season. For children there are chewable Elderberry Plus available and Ultimate Echinacea can be taken by children also.

I believe that it is best to practice prevention rather than lucking for a cure. You foods have traditionally been, and always will be your best medicines. With this said, eating whole, organic, locally grown food and exercising regularly is a great way to build health and a strong biological terrain. In other words, practice healthy living and building a strong biological terrain is the best way to survive this flu season

What is Optimum Health

It is not possible to achieve optimum health without knowing what it is. Optimum means of the greatest degree. It is the highest level that can be obtained or achieved. When applied to health, it means, on the surface, the healthiest we can be. It is more than that.

Many people believe that health is nothing but the absence of disease. If the medical establishment has not pinned a disease on you, then you must be healthy. This cannot be further from the truth. Health exists on many levels. It is physical, mental, and spiritual. All must be at their best for optimum health to be achieved.

But what does it mean to have achieved optimum health? In achieving maximum health, you have maximized your ability to move, work, and think while minimizing you potential for injury and fatigue. You are able to handle all the challenges that life has to offer.

To me Optimum Health is more of a process and a way of life than a destination. I liken it to Nirvana. The steps and tasks that are required to reach it are as, or even more, important than the achievement of the goal itself. In order to achieve optimum health, you will need to have optimum nutrition, optimum exercise, optimum physical activity, and optimum rest. It is also required to maximize ourselves mentally and spiritually. Our physical health is greatly influenced by the way we think.

The two most important things in achieving optimum health is nutrition and exercise. Without either, it would be impossible to do so. The foods we eat today are void of micronutrients, and are in fact artificial by all sense of the word. “At best, this conflict between genetic design and modern food reduces physical performance and longevity. Some researchers also contend it is a major factor in the decline mental performance after age 40 that is now apparent in America. At worst, numerous experts believe, it likely responsible for most of the chronic degenerative diseases of western life”. (Colgan, Nutrition For Champions, 2007) But it is more than our food that is killing us. Researchers have found that the sedentary lifestyle we have adopted over the past 50 to 60 years causes widespread body damage that occurs independently to other factors such as smoking, alcohol, age, and others. (Colgan, The New Nutrition: Medicine for the Millennium, 1996)

It is clear that in order to obtain the nirvana of optimum health, you must begin by eating whole live foods and exercising. It is not rocket science, but many people seem just not to get this simple fact.